Whereas in musicology and musical practice the historically informed performance ("Historische Aufführungspraxis") has a longstanding tradition and has been established as a field of research for a long time, the equivalent in art history which could be termed the "historically informed exhibition practice" ("Historisch-kritische Ausstellungspraxis") has yet to be developed. From its beginning the museum offered a generelized way of displaying art works without taking into account that many of the art works shown were produced for specific places, such as church chapels, with individual lighting settings and other conditions. This museological tradition has a right of its own and should not be overcome but perhaps complemented by the historically informed exhibition practice.
The five-day course will take place in the Gemäldegalerie Berlin (morning) and in a studio (afternoon).
In the morning sessions we will discuss major art works from the Italian Renaissance, their historical setting, lighting, iconic structure and how the current display could be improved according to the historic iconic situation.
In the afternoon sessions we will be introduced to historic painting practices by Muriel Vervat who is an outstanding conservator practicing mostly at the Opificio delle Pietre Dure (OPD) in Florence. She has worked on major works by Botticelli, Giovanni Bellini, Domenico Ghirlandaio and others. The theoretical and practical knowledge of historic painting practices is a necessary condition to the understanding of the historic iconic situation. |
